Shivaratri is celebrated as birth-night of Lord Shiva.

Shivaratri is celebrated as birth-night of Lord Shiva.

This day is the celebration dedicated to the Lord Shiva which falls on the Trayodashi of the month Fagun (February/March).

Maha-Shivaratri-pashupatinath

Nepal is the only Hindu kingdom in the world and thus the land of Lord Shiva, Lord of all Lords, for here you can feel his presence everywhere. Even in the sacred texts of the Hindus it has been stated that Mt. Kailash in the Himalayas is the abode of Lord Shiva or Mahadeva as he is also known. Shiva the Destroyer of Evil is among the most praised and worshipped of all the gods in the Hindu religion. Hindus all over the world know him through different names and forms. The country has thousands of idols and monuments, which glorify his name, the most common one being the Shiva Linga or the phallus of Shiva that represents him. For it is the Shiva linga that Hindus regard as the symbol of creation, the beginning of everything. Shiva Ratri is the night of Lord Shiva when He himself was created by His own Divine Grace and Hindus all over the world celebrate this day with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm. Shiva Ratri literally means ‘ the night consecrated to Shiva’. This auspicious festival falls on the fourteenth day of the waning moon in the month of Falgun, (February – March in the Gregorian calendar ). The temple of Pashupatinath in Kathmandu which is considered as one of the holiest shrines of the Hindus, glorifying Lord Shiva, thus receives more than 100,000 worshippers during the festival of Shiva Ratri. These worshippers come from far and wide to pay their respects and homage to Mahadev on his sacred day.

Lord Shiva

We worship Lord Shiva with the maha mantra “Om Namaha Shivaya”.  The Mahamantra   “Om Namaha Shivaya” also known as shadakshari mantra. Each letter in this mantra has spiritual meaning. This mantra is also known as maha mantra.

Om alone is the sound of life. It is the endless vibration that flows through the universe and provides life in every living being. Chanting revitalizes the mind and body and settles the mind. Om is the beginning and it is the end. In Sanskrit, the meaning of Om is avati, or rakuati. Rakuati means one who protects or sustains. Om is the most powerful mantra.

(Om as made up of three parts.  These are and .  Our sound starts with “a”, when we speak go to “O” and end with M, so Om is the totality. It is a mantra which provides complete rest to our body and energy to our mind. )

Maha-Shivaratri

Meaning of each letters of the mantra

Main god of all the regions (loks)

One who gifts supreme and spiritual knowledge (dnyan) and destroys greatest sins

Shi: generous, calm and responsible for the beginning by Lord Shiva

va: Symbol of vehicle (Nandi) the bull and the Vasuki and Vamangi Energies (Shakti)

Y: Positive residence of highest heaven and Lord Shiva.

Maha-Shivaratri-pashupatinath1

Individuals can carry Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes to Nepal & Bhutan: RBI

Individuals can carry Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes to Nepal & Bhutan: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today announced that an individual travelling to neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan can carry Indian currency notes in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs  1,000.

100INR

“An individual can now carry to Nepal and Bhutan Indian currency notes in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, subject to a limit of Rs 25,000,” RBI said in a statement.

Earlier, individuals were allowed to carry Indian currency without any limit in denomination of only up to Rs 100.

This has been relaxed to mitigate the hardship faced by individuals travelling to Nepal and Bhutan from India, it  added.

The RBI has suitably amended the  Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2000 to incorporate the relaxation.

Source: dayandnightnews

Nepal, India to jointly promote tourism

Nepal, India to jointly promote tourism

Nepal and India will soon begin joint tourism promotion campaign.

Speaking at the 51st anniversary of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said that there is a need of mutual cooperation as Nepal and India are jointly promoting tourism.

“As Nepal is a famous religious tourism destination for it has Pashupatinath, Lumbini, Muktinath and Janakpurdham. It should promote these destinations to attract tourists,” said Rae, adding, “Nepal should focus on religious and adventure tourism and it is through this it can bring in quality tourists”.

NATTA-AGM

Prachanda Man Shrestha, former CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said there is a need of the campaign to promote regional markets. “Nepal needs to move forward giving priority to neighboring countries India and China first to promote tourism and increase tourist arrivals,” said Shrestha.

At the program, NATTA demanded a certain percent from the tourism service fee (TSF) for strengthening the association. “As it the tour operators who bring in tourists, we should get certain percent from the TSF collected by NTB,” said DB Limbu, president of NATTA.

NATTA currently has around 500 members associated with it. It cancels the membership of companies that does not renew its membership for more than a year. Earlier, it used to cancel membership of companies that did not renew membership every six months.

Source: Republica

Maghe Sankranti Festival in Nepal

Maghe Sankranti Festival in Nepal

Maghe Sankranti is the beginning of the holy month of Magh, usually the mid of January. It brings an end to the ill-omened month of Poush (mid-december) when all religious ceremonies are forbidden. Even if it is considered the coldest day of the year, it marks the coming of warmer weather and better days of health and fortune. Maghe Sankranti is the beginning of the holy month of Magh, usually the mid of January.

devghat

It brings an end to the ill-omened month of Poush (mid-december) when all religious ceremonies are forbidden. Even if it is considered the coldest day of the year, it marks the coming of warmer weather and better days of health and fortune. This day is said to be the most significant day for holy bathing despite the weather. This ritual usually takes place at the union of sacred rivers and streams. Sankhamole, on the banks of the holy Bagmati river, below Patan, is thought to be amongst the most sacred sites for this purpose, though there has been a decline in the fulfillment of this ritual in the recent years due to water pollution in the river. But people still go in the wee hours of dawn just to sprinkle themselves with the water. They pay homage to various deities specially the temple of Red Machindranath and Agima Ta.

The wonders of Nepal

Nepal and Himalayas have been the synonym words for Nepal enjoys the pride of having 8 out of 10 highest peaks of the world! We don’t have only mountains but our unique geography has given us green hills and valleys, rivers, subtropical forests and flat lands all adding beauty to our country. Apart from geographical diversity, we have incredible cultural diversity within the boundary of our small Himalayan Kingdom . We have a number of ethnic groups, each with their own languages, cultures, and costumes, all living in perfect harmony.

Nepal’s Kathmandu ValleyThe best way to experience unbeatable combination of natural beauty and cultural riches of Nepal is to walk through terrain. One can walk along the beaten trails or virgin tracks. Either way you are in for an experience of a lifetime. Along with rhododendron forests, isolated hamlets, small mountain villages, birds, animals, temples, monasteries (Gomba) breathtaking landscape of unsurpassed mountain ranges, you will also encounter friendly people of different cultures and traditional rural life.

Diverse CulturesThe great Mountains with unsurpassable splendor, crystal clear streams and brooks, the high current of rivers, colorful species of flowers, birds and animals, abundance of greenery and forests with much more hidden beauty and mystery with unavoidable adventure and fun will be waiting for you.

The Elevation Change

Many people have said about Nepal .
The country of Mount Everest, Roof top of the world, Top Eight highest mountain and 240 peaks exceeding 6094 meters, land of living Goddess, Melting pot of Hinduism and Buddhism, Country of non-stop festivals, Himalayan pilgrimage, “The wildest dreams of Kew” Nature’s amphitheatre, heat of Shangri-la, land of yak and yeti, living cultural museum of the world, anthropological treasure land, ecologists dreamland.

The Lakes

More Details About Nepal: http://www.samratgroup.org/

NATTA and sajha yatayat sign MOU for NEPAL INDIA bus service

  • ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP TREK - 15 DAYS
    ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP TREK - 15 DAYS
    This trek is the one of best views of annapurna range, nilgiri , Dhaulagiri , Tukuche peak , Dhampus peak , Hiunchuli ,Machhapuchhre , Gangapurna, Lamjung Himal other many more greatest views of mountains you never seen before.
  • KATHMANDU-POKHARA-CHITWAN TOUR (BY FLY/LAND)- 07 NIGHTS 08 DAYS
    KATHMANDU-POKHARA-CHITWAN TOUR (BY FLY/LAND)- 07 NIGHTS 08 DAYS
    Nepal, the land of splendid nature and rich culture is waiting for you exploration through its different facets.
  • DAMODAR KUND TOUR BY HELICOPTER - 05 NIGHTS 06 DAYS
    DAMODAR KUND TOUR BY HELICOPTER - 05 NIGHTS 06 DAYS
    Many Hindus from round the globe are dreaming to take a holy bath at least once in their life time in the sacred Damodar-Kund
  • 08 DAYS 07 NIGHTS NEPAL TRIP:  KATHMANDU 3N, CHITWAN 2N, POKHARA 2N
    08 DAYS 07 NIGHTS NEPAL TRIP: KATHMANDU 3N, CHITWAN 2N, POKHARA 2N
    Nepal, the land of splendid nature and rich culture is waiting for you exploration through its different facets.
  • EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK - 17 DAYS
    EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK - 17 DAYS
    Sagamartha (Everest) Base Camp trek takes us into one of the most spectacular regions of Nepal where the Sherpa culture thrives amongst the highest peaks in the world.
  • KAILASH MANSAROVAR YATRA BY OVERLAND - 14 DAYS
    KAILASH MANSAROVAR YATRA BY OVERLAND - 14 DAYS
    Mt. Kailash (6714m) is the most sacred mountain in Asia.
  • KAILASH YATRA BY HELICOPTER VIA NEPALGUNJ/SIMIKOT/HILSA/TAKLAKOT - 11 DAYS
    KAILASH YATRA BY HELICOPTER VIA NEPALGUNJ/SIMIKOT/HILSA/TAKLAKOT - 11 DAYS
    Mt. Kailash, the sacred mountain and the abode of the Hindu god Shiva is one of the world's greatest pilgrimage destinations especially for Hindus, Buddhist, Jains and others.
  • MUKTINATH TOUR BY LAND/FLIGHT
    MUKTINATH TOUR BY LAND/FLIGHT
    Muktinath is one of the most ancient Hindu temples of God Vishnu.
The MOU was made and entered between NATTA and Sajha Yatayat, a public Transport Cooperative for outsourcing buses for SajhaYatayat’s Nepal India Bus Service. Both the parties have mutual concord to start Nepal-India bus service in the banner of Sajha Yatayat using the quality buses of tour and travel companies who are the members of NATTA.

Mr. Sher Bahadur Budha, CEO of Sajha Yatayat and NATTA Acting President / 2nd Vice President Mr. C.N Pandey signed the agreement.

NATTA Executive Member, Mr. Sudhir Kumar Upadhyay has been appointed the Coordinator for this project.